Droke Road work set in Alcorn County

CORINTH – Relocating utility poles from right of way on Droke Road is the last preliminary step before construction can begin to widen the road between Harper Road and South Parkway.
The Corinth board this week gave its final approval for the mayor to sign contract documents with Michael Pittman Construction Co. of Corinth to widen the road to three lanes and construct a roundabout at Droke and Parkway.
A new Corinth Elementary School is expected to open in August, and the project is on schedule to have a “usable, functional road” by the time school starts, said Dave Huwe, director of community development and planning.
Pittman’s was the lowest of five bids on the project, at $1,033.431. Other bidders included Buddy Ayers Construction of Corinth, $1,143.940; Prairie Construction of Tupelo, $1,154,948; Ronald Franks Construction of Savannah, Tenn., $1,228,979; and Century Construction & Realty of Tupelo, $1,321,951.
It should be possible for the utility pole relocations to be completed and construction to begin early next month, Huwe said.
The roundabout intersection design is not common in Mississippi, though examples exist in Oxford, Starkville and Jackson near the airport.
The design was chosen for its safety, Huwe said in an earlier interview.
“They slow the speed to about 25 miles per hour approaching the intersection,” he said. “Also, at a regular intersection there are 32 potential points where an accident could happen as opposed to eight at a roundabout. That’s about a 75 percent decrease in possible accidents from a traditional intersection.”
Another reason officials decided to go with a different design is the nearby railroad overpass and traffic at the Proper Street and Harper Road intersection that is signal-controlled.